Easy Baked Spanish Rice

When I was a newlywed with limited culinary experience a friend passed along this easy recipe for Spanish Rice and it has remained a family favorite. The first time I made it I was so proud of myself for producing something that tasted exactly like I wished it would taste, exactly like someone else would make, yet it came from my kitchen.

SUCCESS!

While the recipe is easy, there are a few steps involved. For you new cooks, be brave. It’s worth the effort. If you can read, you can do this; trust me.

Cover and bake 35 minutes. If not quite done after cook time, add 5-10 minutes, being careful not to burn.

Once cooked, fluff with fork and sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Bake 5 more minutes.

Garnish with bacon.

Notes

You can use sweet red peppers in place of the green.

Don't omit the sugar. It cuts the tomato acidity and gives the dish a smooth taste.

Using the bacon drippings to grease casserole dish with and saute veggies in gives the dish an amazing complexity.

To test if the dish is done at 35 minutes, take off the lid and use a fork to grab a small bite of rice. If the rice had any stiffness left, or crunch, cook a bit more, checking every 5 minutes with this method.

If you love Tex-Mex, you’ll love this Spanish rice. If you want to bring an impressive dish to a pot luck, this is the ticket. If you need to bribe your MIL to watch the babies, make this as your offering. If you need comfort food/a WOW project/a new blog entry…this. Do this.

This is definitely up my alley. I will be trying this – we love to have Mexican food (can you tell with my recipes lately? LOL) but I never make rice to go along with it! Can’t wait to try this! Pinning and stumbling!

I have a meal planned this week that I may be able to make this dish with. Pinned. Visiting from Wonderful Wed. Blog Hop. Would love if you came and linked up at The Yuck Stops Here! recipe link up too.

Hey there! I found you on The Chicken Chick’s blog hop. I am hosting Mostly Homemade Mondays, and want to invite you over to link up! I think you would fit in with us perfectly 🙂 Join us: thesustainablecouple.com/2014/04/mostly-homemade-mondays-week